OLD WESTBURY - After playing a role in the Martin family for nearly 100 years, the family estate, known as Knole, has been sold to a development interest for $11 million.

Martin estate serves up the Knole enchilada

By: LIBN Staff February 6, 2004Comments Off on Martin estate serves up the Knole enchilada

OLD WESTBURY – After playing a role in the Martin family for nearly 100 years, the family estate, known as Knole, has been sold to a development interest for $11 million.

The home was sold by the estate of Esmond B. Martin to an undisclosed buyer that hopes to subdivide the 36-acre property and build homes.

Real estate sources say the land alone is worth $10 million based on the site’s development potential. Kenneth Callahan, the clerk of Old Westbury Village, said the buyer has contacted the village regarding a potential subdivision but declined to provide a name.

Though the Knole Estate is smaller in scale, its sale is reminiscent of one in Muttontown: Kirby Hill, a 148-acre estate acquired by developers Gerald and Elliot Monter in 2000.

In that instance, the two paid $21.5 million for the property with the intent of building about 79 luxury homes on lots that range from a half-acre to three acres. The homes, which will have asking prices as high as $3 million, will be part of a development known as "Hamlet Estates at Kirby Hill."

Knole is anchored by a 40,000-square-foot Palladian-style mansion designed by Thomas Hastings of the Manhattan-based architectural firm Carrere and Hastings, which also designed the New York Public Library for Herman B. Duryea in 1903. The Martin family acquired the site two years later.

Located on Post Road, the three-story stucco building features 20-foot ceilings, 40 rooms, 17 fireplaces and 10 bedrooms. It was used as a backdrop for the movies such as "Arthur," "Reversal of Fortune," "The Night We Never Met," "The Associate" and "Look At Me" in the 1980s and 1990s, according to the Nassau County Department of Commerce and Industry. It generates more than $130,000 a year in property taxes.

Knole had been on the market for more than a year and had an asking price as high as $16.5 million, which had then dropped to $14.5 million before the $11 million sale closed.

Prior to his death on June 16, 2002 at Knole, Esmond Martin was known as an avid collector and a success in his financial affairs, which included wildcatting in gas, oil and other investments. He was the son of Bradley Martin and Helen Phipps, daughter of Henry Phipps, the Pittsburgh steel magnate and partner of Andrew Carnegie. The estate was his full-time residence until his death.

The estate was sold, according to Barbara Candee, vice president of Daniel Gale Associates in Locust Valley and broker of the transaction, because Martin’s children live in Palm Beach, Fla., and Europe. She said the home is considered "one of the finest in the United States" and noted that it would be impossible to reproduce because of the amount of craftsmanship involved.